


in the good timeline, mace windu is still stressing

by anaisonfire



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Fix-It, Gen, Mace Windu Appreciation Day 2020, Mentioned Anakin Skywalker/Padmé Amidala - Freeform, Mentioned CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura, Sheev Palpatine Dies Off Screen, The Jedi Knew About Padme/Anakin All Along, don’t ask me to explain what happens in the background of this idk either, ft. some Excellent tea, mace&padme probably end up friends after this (much to anakin's horror)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24329872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaisonfire/pseuds/anaisonfire
Summary: Mace Windu is not having a good day.He’s not been having a good day this entire week, month, year - the whole war, truly.And now the Chancellor is dead.
Relationships: Mace Windu & Padmé Amidala
Comments: 38
Kudos: 441
Collections: Jedi-Friendly





	in the good timeline, mace windu is still stressing

**Author's Note:**

> i managed to write this on time for the event, bless  
> let's see the mace love pour today, friends <3
> 
> warning for probably-excessive use of _italics_ for emphasis

Mace Windu is not having a good day.

He’s not been having a good day this entire week, month, year - the whole war, truly.

And now the Chancellor is dead. The Chancellor who just so turned out to be the Sith Lord who has been playing them all for fools. Who the entire Order has been searching for since Qui-Gon died. Who would’ve continued to evade them if he hadn’t been revealed by _Darth Maul_ , of all people, in a series of events that Mace refuses to think about unless absolutely necessary.

He’s going to have a headache again.

And now this.

“Senator Amidala,” he says, _politely_ , to the woman who is for some inexplicable reason cornering him in a surprisingly empty Senate corridor instead of off dealing with the political nightmare that Palpatine’s death kicked off.

“What can I do for you?”

“Master Windu,” she replies, also politely, instantly putting him on guard. “Do you have a minute? This won’t take long.”

Force, there better not be yet another new problem.

“Of course.”

“This way, please.”

Oh no, she is smiling her Smile. People tell horror stories of the things Padme Amidala gets up to while smiling like that.

They walk in silence to her office, Mace trying to beat off an incoming migraine all the while. Likely pointless but one must have hope.

“Please, sit,” she says when the door’s been closed and they are alone.

He finds two cups of still-steaming tea on the little table she gestures to instead of her desk. He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment on the blatant contradiction with her words outside. Tea is tea, and Amidala is highly likely to be serving the good stuff. Manners are important, even when one is clearly setting up a trap.

_No wonder Obi-Wan likes her_ , Mace thinks, amused somewhere under the exhaustion and exasperation.

He picks up his cup and stays silent.

And so does she.

They drink the tea - _yes_ , it _is_ the good kind - and don’t say anything, and stare at each other politely.

And stare. And _stare_.

Really, she’s not going to win this. At any other time she might because he is usually a very busy person and doesn’t have time for this but not now. Now, as much as he doesn’t want to deal with whatever this is, sitting here and drinking good tea in silence is much more preferable than trying to reason with yet more hysterical Senators who refuse to be sensible or even uphold the basic principles of the Republic and _pass the vote to give the clones citizenship already_.

Eventually, when almost all of the tea is gone and it’s become lukewarm, the senator speaks.

“Master Windu, I must say, I have a great deal of respect for you,” she begins.

Mace is lost. He has no idea what this could possibly be about, since it’s clearly not some kind of emergency. He is however certain that Skywalker is responsible, somehow.

“The sentiment is mutual, Senator. Your work is an example for us all,” he replies and _doesn’t_ tense when The Smile returns.

“I try, Master.” She sets her cup down on the table and- _there_. “It has come to my attention that the Council is aware of my and Anakin’s marriage.”

“As is anyone who has been around Skywalker for any amount of time in the past two years,” he replies dryly because _really_. Subtlety is not a trait Anakin Skywalker possesses. “I fail to see how that led to me being here, however.”

Amidala doesn’t respond for a second and he sees a flicker of emotion pass over her face, too quick to tell what it is.

“Am I to assume, then, that the Jedi will not… object? To our relationship?”

He gives in to the urge to rise an eyebrow at her.

“Is there a _reason_ we should be objecting?”

This makes her pause. She narrows her eyes at him.

“Isn’t this kind of _attachment_ forbidden for Jedi?”

“Attachment _is_ forbidden,” he retorts. “A Jedi’s commitment must always be to the protection of life and the Force first and foremost. Attachments - for example, a typical marriage - go against that and so it is heavily discouraged. But there are no rules that explicitly forbid it, no.”

He doesn’t mention the exceptions to this non-rule, such as Ki-Adi-Mundi, since she must be aware of them already.

Amidala is almost obviously frowning now. As she takes a moment to think his words over, Mace takes another sip of his tea. She seems to come to some kind of conclusion because her expression smooths out and she looks him dead in the eyes.

“Master Windu, so there are no misunderstandings between us, what I am asking is this: if we publicly announce our marriage, will you or will you not expel Anakin from the Order?”

Now he rises both of his eyebrows at her. “ _I_ will be doing nothing. _If_ the Council is given reason to think that Knight Skywalker is not doing his duty as a Jedi, he will be asked to make a choice to either recommit to the Jedi or to leave. Forcefully expelling people from the Order is a rare measure, Senator, and one only used in truly extreme cases.” And because he can already see the next question and it _has_ been on his mind a lot lately, he continues in a slightly less rigid tone. “While it’s true that such an announcement will not make either you or him friends among the more traditionally inclined parts of the Order, it’s hardly like there aren’t other Jedi in relationships. I’m sure you are aware of Master Secura and Commander Bly’s announcement?”

Amidala looks amused at his description of the event. It is probably stretching it to call Aayla and Bly making out obviously and loudly in front of the Senate building in view of over a dozen reporters an ‘announcement’ but it’s not like he can say it like _that_ ; he has a reputation to preserve.

“I have, yes, and I see your point,” she says and smiles a more true smile. “Thank you for your time, Master.”

He nods gravely and sets his empty teacup on the table. “Thank you for the excellent tea, Senator.”

And because he just might be a bit of a bastard, he adds as he’s leaving:

“Do tell Skywalker that if he’s going to attempt to keep a secret, he should be less obvious about _having_ a secret to hide. And to talk to Kenobi already, he’s going to wear a hole in the floor if he keeps pacing.”

The door closes behind him but not fast enough to cut off Amidala’s laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> not pictured: padme relaying mace's words and having to sit down from laughing at anakin's offended face
> 
> this is probably set somewhere in the last clone wars season but idk, i haven't seen it yet. how exactly did sheevy die? what did maul even do? where is maul right now, anyway? dooku? grevious? all excellent questions. if you have an answer, feel free to tell me bc i don't know ( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧
> 
> i wrote in less than 12hrs because i forgot it was for today and not the 28th hooray ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ
> 
> this is unbetaed and also my first ever finished & published fic, highfive @ myself
> 
> hope the words were pleasing to read!
> 
> /i'm on tumblr as [anaisonfire](https://anaisonfire.tumblr.com/) too


End file.
